The article
THE RAF has taken delivery of three new refuelling aircraft, each worth tens of millions of pounds, that it bars from operating with its warplanes.
A fuel nozzle that is supposed to join the new Voyager aircraft to the RAF’s Tornado and Typhoon jets in mid-air refuelling does not connect properly to the combat aircraft. Tests revealed that fuel was leaking.
The disclosure is a further embarrassment for a £10.5bn project that has already been beset with delays, with the aircraft due to enter service more than two years late.
The RAF is taking delivery of 14 refuelling aircraft, which are converted Airbus A330s, to replace its ageing fleet of VC10s and TriStars.
MPs have previously criticised the MoD after it was revealed that it had ordered the planes without the protective gear needed to operate in warzones. MPs also accused the ministry of not understanding the costs involved in the deal, which was signed in 2008 and involves the RAF leasing the aircraft for 27 years.
Despite the RAF identifying the refuelling problem in late 2011, it has continued to take delivery of more aircraft. The second and third Voyagers were delivered to RAF Brize Norton last month. Three more aircraft will be delivered in the first half of this year.
The RAF has so far refused to allow the aircraft to be used for refuelling until a newly designed connector passes tests. Instead the aircraft can carry out only their other role of transporting troops and equipment.
The cost of the extra work is being shared between the AirTanker consortium, which is making the aircraft, and the MoD. This weekend the ministry refused to reveal how much the debacle will cost taxpayers.
Jim Murphy, Labour’s shadow defence secretary, said: “Ministers must work with industry to resolve this issue. The country will want to know who will bear the cost of any repair work and the impact of this and any delay on the core equipment programme.”
The Voyager is the largest aircraft in the RAF’s history, being almost 200ft long and with a 198ft wingspan. It can carry 22,000 gallons of fuel as well about 300 troops and 44 tons of military hardware.
In late 2011 the RAF identified that the so-called “drogue”, a basket or nozzle that connects the tanker’s fuel line to the aircraft being refuelled, was not linking properly, even though it worked successfully on aircraft such as the American-made F-16 and F-18.
The nozzle, which can pump 1,100 gallons of fuel a minute while in flight, was found to be rotating and its hose line swinging as pilots attempted to make their connection.
AirTanker, a consortium whose members include EADS, the owner of Airbus, Babcock, the UK defence services group, and Thales, the French defence and aerospace group, said it resolved those issues last year.
However, further tests by the RAF revealed that the nozzle was still occasionally “tipping” during refuelling, leading the MoD to demand that a different drogue design be used. This second drogue has been tested and is awaiting approval from defence chiefs.
The MoD insists the fleet of aircraft is still on target for entering service next year. However, defence sources admit that the option of extending the life of the VC10s and TriStars still remains a possibility.
The RAF’s squadron of eight remaining VC10s, which are based on a design now more than 50 years old, were due to retire in March. Extending their life would cost millions in maintenance costs.
An MoD spokesman said: “Since April 2012 Voyager has been delivering core air transport and aeromedical capabilities. Voyager remains on schedule to meet its air-to-air refuelling in-service-date of May 2014 and once trials are successfully completed RAF air-to-air refuelling training will begin.”
AirTanker has emphasised that both of the drogue designs are in operational service in other countries.
Phill Blundell, AirTanker’s chief executive, said: “We expect the MoD to begin air-to-air refuelling operations imminently.
“Deliveries of aircraft continue, with three more due in the first half of the year and we very much look forward to working closely with the MoD and our partners throughout the coming year to deliver new operational flexibility to the RAF.”